Increased levels of storage capacity in floppy and hard disk drives are a direct result of the higher track densities possible with voice-coil and other types of servo positioners, as well as the ability to read and write narrower tracks by using, for example, magnetoresistive (MR) head technology. Previously, low track density disk drives were able to achieve satisfactory head positioning with leadscrew and stepper motor mechanisms. However, when track densities become so great that the mechanical error of a leadscrew stepper motor combination is significant compared to track-to-track spacing, an embedded servo is needed so that the position of the head can be determined from the signals it reads.
Conventional servo-patterns (also referred to as servo-data) typically include short bursts of a constant frequency signal, very precisely located offset from a data track's center line, on either side. The bursts are written in a sector header area, and can be used to find the center line of a track. Staying on center is desired during both reading and writing. Since there can be sixty, or even more, sectors per track, that same number of servo-data areas must be dispersed around a data track. These servo-data areas allow a head to follow a track center line around a disk, even when the track is out of round, as can occur with spindle wobble, disk slip and/or thermal expansion. As technology advances to provide smaller disk drives, and increased track densities, the placement of servo-data must also be proportionately more accurate.
One example of servo-data is shown in FIG. 1, which includes a sector header 2 followed by a pattern to provide radial position information. The sector header includes a Servo ID (SID) Field 4 and a Grey Code Field 6, which require precise alignment track to track. Misalignment in these patterns results in destructive interference of the magnetic pattern and reduces the amplitude of the signal which leads to errors. Specifications on the alignment in modern disk drives is approximately 25 nanosec (3 sigma) track to track for a disk rotation period of roughly 11 milliseconds or 2.3 ppm. This narrow time window therefore requires precise measurement of the disk angular position over many revolutions of the disk.
As disk drives strive to increase data capacity, there is a desire to reduce the size of the servo-data areas, such that they take up less space on the disk. In order to reduce the size, however, the servo-data are written at higher and higher frequencies. These higher frequencies require tighter timing tolerances from track to track.
In one example, timing is provided by writing trigger patterns at various locations of the disk. It is understood that in writing a trigger pattern a specified time after a trigger, the presence of electronic delays in the trigger and write circuitry is taken into consideration. This is described in IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 5 (October 1990), where the delay between A and B clock areas is measured and stored. This delay value is used to advance the write timing of all subsequent servo-tracks and clock areas.
Although, the IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 33, No. 5 (October 1990) discussed the presence of electronic delays, it did not discuss how to achieve optimum track to track trigger pattern alignment in the presence of random errors. The growth of these errors has thus far prevented the commercial application of various proposed techniques for self-clock generation, since there are precise requirements for timing alignment in modern disk drives.
Therefore, a need still exists for a capability to reduce systematic errors in the writing of timing patterns. In particular, a need exists for an improved capability to:
1) Minimize the effect of velocity jitter without decreasing the interval size, such that a source of random errors is at lea reduced. PA1 2) Improve the control of intervals, which in turn reduces random errors during timing pattern generation. PA1 3) Achieve track to track alignment without incurring an additional revolution of the disk. This at the very least reduces the growth of random errors during a single revolution of the disk.